Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Andrew Karanja explained that the continuously rising global demand for animal products meant that the health and well-being of livestock are of paramount importance.
The government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Saturday, November 16 moved to quell fears about the planned livestock vaccination nationwide. The statement was in response to calls by Wiper Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka to Kenyans and the international community to reject the vaccination plan.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Andrew Karanja in a statement explained that the continuously rising global demand for animal products meant that the health and well-being of livestock are of paramount importance.
With livestock playing a critical role in the economies and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, providing food, income, and employment, ensuring the health of animals and the safety of the food supply meant that the vaccination of livestock is one of the most effective and sustainable strategies available.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Andrew Karanja speaking in Mombasa during a two-day meeting with the Senate Committee on Agriculture on November 15, 2024. /MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
“In order to control preventable diseases, livestock vaccination is not only a vital tool for preventing the spread of infectious diseases but also a key factor in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the agricultural sector. By reducing the risk of disease outbreaks, vaccination helps maintain healthy herds, enhances productivity, and safeguards the health of consumers,” stated the CS in part.
While listing the key benefits of livestock vaccination, Karanja revealed that vaccination is the first line of defence against many serious diseases that affect livestock, such as foot-and-mouth disease, brucellosis and peste des petits ruminants (PPR), diseases that can have devastating economic impacts, leading to significant losses in production, reduced trade, and, in severe cases, culling of animals. Vaccines help prevent these diseases from spreading, reducing the need for drastic measures.
In terms of improved animal welfare, the CS noted that vaccinated animals are less likely to suffer from preventable diseases, which can cause pain, distress, and even death, adding that ensuring livestock are properly vaccinated supports animal welfare and reduces the ethical concerns associated with disease outbreaks.
Regarding increased productivity and efficiency, “Healthy animals are more productive. Vaccinated livestock have higher growth rates, better reproductive performance, and improved milk and egg production. This not only supports the livelihoods of farmers but also helps ensure a stable and affordable food supply for communities worldwide,” the CS went on.
Karanja then talked of economic stability warning that the economic cost of an outbreak of infectious diseases can be staggering, thus vaccination reduces the likelihood of outbreaks, lowering the costs of medical treatment, loss of animals, and trade restrictions and also helps keep agricultural markets stable by maintaining the supply of livestock products.
On public health protection, Karanja sought to address Kalonzo’s fears that the vaccination could also do harm to human beings consuming products from vaccinated animals, arguing that some livestock diseases, such as zoonotic diseases, can be transmitted to humans.
Therefore, in his view, vaccinating animals reduces the risk of these diseases spilling over into the human population, thus protecting public health. A strong vaccination program for livestock also supports global health efforts to combat emerging diseases.
The CS termed it imperative that governments, veterinarians, and farmers work together to ensure that livestock vaccination programs are accessible, well-funded, and effectively implemented and that public awareness campaigns are essential to educate farmers and the wider community about the importance of vaccination, the safety of vaccines, and the proper vaccination schedules for different types of livestock.
“By making livestock vaccination a priority, we can secure a healthier future for animals, farmers, and consumers alike, while contributing to global food security and public health. The national vaccination program set to be rolled out is targeting the vaccination of 22 million cattle against foot and mouth disease (FMD) and 50 million sheep and goats against PPR.
“These vaccines will be supplied by the Kenya Vaccine Production Institute(KEVEVAPI) which has a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate. The ultimate aim is to achieve freedom from FMD with vaccination and eradicate PPR. Together, we can ensure that vaccination remains an essential tool in building a more resilient, sustainable, and prosperous livestock sector,” he assured members of the public, urging them to “disregard and ignore the malicious and unfounded allegations that this noble initiative by the Government is related to the global warming.”
Speaking at the party’s command centre in Nairobi on Friday, November 16, Kalonzo cautioned that the introduction of dangerous substances as a result of President William Ruto’s administration working with foreign billionaires to use Kenya as a testing ground could cause damaging side effects.
These include complications with biological formations and the capability for the animals to reproduce, issues which would pass down to humans through consuming animal farm produce and do damage to normal internal body systems.
Kalonzo expressed that the proposed vaccination programme had all the markings of a sinister foreign agenda and did not augur well for the country’s pastoralist group or for Kenya as a whole. “The plan, which has the full support of international research institutions, wants to introduce gene-modifying drugs into Kenyan bovine livestock in order for them to ostensibly “cease emitting methane gas into the atmosphere.”,” he indicated.
“They say that biogas, which is used for a variety of residential uses around the world, is contributing to harmful climate change. As a result, our animals are expected to receive injections that prevent them from releasing digestive gas into the atmosphere indefinitely,” he added.
However, according to the Azimio la Umoja principal, the frontrunners of the plan do not carry out the same vaccination programmes in their own nations, where they have considerably more animals than Kenya and, therefore greater contributors to “harmful climate change”, noting, with alarm that the vaccinations that were developed overseas, have been rejected everywhere else in the world, including their home country, the United States of America (USA).
